The high-end U.S. smartphone market is incredibly tough to break into, but OnePlus apparently managed to do just that last year. According to a report from research analyst IDC, OnePlus was one of the top five high-end smartphone brands in the United States during Q4 2018.
That "high-end" distinction is for brands with phones that sell for $500 or more, and while that's a big win for OnePlus, it certainly is interesting to see the company being ranked as one of the most successful high-end brands went it initially emerged with notably low cost phones geared towards tech enthusiasts.
Commenting on the news, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said:
It's been over five years since we launched our first phone in the US, initially as an online-only offering. We're proud of how far we've come and even more excited about the future ahead.
Back in December, Lau previously noted that sales of the OnePlus 6T in the U.S. had increased by 249% compared to the OnePlus 6. The company's partnership with T-Mobile clearly played a big role in the company's success last year, and as we make our way through 2019, it'll be interesting to see if OnePlus sticks with that T-Mobile exclusivity for future phone releases or branches out to more carriers and MVNOs.
As for OnePlus's performance outside of the U.S., it was also recently credited as being the best-selling premium smartphone brand in India for 2018. Furthermore, OnePlus managed to acquire 36% of India's premium smartphone market and keep its #1 position in the country for its third consecutive quarter.
